Local law enforcement offered to use drone technology to enhance security at the Butler, Pa. rally where former President Donald Trump was nearly assassinated earlier this month, but the Secret Service declined the offer, according to a whistleblower, according to Sen. Josh Hawley.
Sen. Hawley (R-Mo.), 44, wrote a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday, seeking clarification on the whistleblower’s claims that the Secret Service “repeatedly” turned down the proposal.
“The night before the rally, US Secret Service repeatedly denied offers from a local law enforcement partner to utilize drone technology to secure the rally,” Hawley wrote, citing the whistleblower.
“The whistleblower further alleges that after the shooting took place, USSS changed course and asked the local partner to deploy the drone technology to surveil the site in the aftermath of the attack,” he added.
The Secret Service operates under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security.
Previously, Hawley made public allegations from a whistleblower stating that an officer who was assigned to monitor the roof of the shed from where Thomas Crooks, 20, fired shots, abandoned his post because it was “too hot.”
The Missouri senator had also sent a letter to Mayorkas earlier in the week, demanding answers regarding these accusations.
Crooks fired multiple shots at the rally, resulting in the death of firefighter Corey Comperatore, 50, and causing severe injuries to David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74. Trump’s ear was also grazed by a bullet.
FBI Director Christopher Wray, during his testimony before the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, questioned whether Trump’s ear was hit by a bullet or shrapnel, despite Trump’s public claim that a bullet grazed him.
Wray confirmed that Crooks had used a drone to conduct surveillance around the rally area about two hours before the assassination attempt, using a drone made by Chinese company DJI, which has led to renewed discussions in Congress about regulating such devices, according to a source.
Crooks, positioned about 150 yards north of Trump during the attack, was eventually killed by law enforcement.
“It is hard to understand why [the Secret Service] would decline to use drones when they were offered, particularly given the fact USSS permitted the shooter to overfly the rally area with his own drone mere hours before [the] event,” Hawley continued.
Hawley also disclosed that the whistleblower claimed the drones offered could have potentially “help neutralize” an active shooter.
Meanwhile, Trump is considering holding indoor rallies instead of outdoor ones for the foreseeable future, as reported by NBC.
On Tuesday, Kimberly Cheatle resigned from her position as Secret Service director amidst intense pressure from both Republicans and some Democrats.
The assassination attempt on July 13 against Trump was the closest a gunman has come to killing a sitting or former US president since John Hinckley Jr. shot Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Trump appeared at the podium afterward with blood running down his face and raised a defiant fist before Secret Service agents escorted him away. At the Republican National Convention last week, he was seen with a bandage over his right ear.
Since the attempt, several groups, including the DHS inspector general and a bipartisan House task force, have launched investigations into the security lapses at the Butler, Pa. rally.
Hawley is demanding that DHS provide “all records and communications concerning the availability or use of drones” at the rally within the next seven days. He also insists that Mayorkas testify before Congress next week.
While the House is set to begin its August recess at the end of this week, the Senate will remain in session next week.
The House Homeland Security Committee has issued a subpoena to Mayorkas for documents related to the assassination attempt.
{Matzav.com}
